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The Politics and Policy of Carbon Capture and Storage

Edited by James Meadowcroft and Oluf Langhelle

Over the past decade carbon capture and storage (CCS) has increasingly come to the fore as a possible option to manage carbon dioxide emissions that are currently contributing to human induced climate change. This book is concerned with the politics of CCS. The authors examine the way CCS has been brought into the political realm, the different interpretations of the significance of this emerging technology, and the policy challenges government and international institutions face with respect to its development, deployment and regulation. The book includes case studies of engagement with CCS in a number of developed countries as well as more thematically focused analysis.

Chapter 2: Technology Leader, Policy Laggard: CCS Development for Climate Mitigation in the US Political Context

Monograph Chapter

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2. Technology leader, policy laggard: CCS development for climate mitigation in the US political context Jennie C. Stephens This chapter reviews the politics and policy associated with the advancement of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the US from a technology innovation perspective. Understanding the US political context is important for two reasons: first, the US has focused its governmental response to climate change on technology rather than policy to a much higher degree than other nations. CCS has been a critical component of this national technological approach, and the US has invested more money, in absolute terms, in CCS development than any other country in the world (Tjernshaugen 2008). And, second, due to its size, status and disproportionate contribution to accumulated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere, the US has unique potential for political and technological influence over the future trajectory of global atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This chapter will provide a review of the politics and policy related to CCS in the US by exploring both governmental and non-governmental activity through a technology innovation perspective. The goal of this chapter is to identify and explain the main political and policy controversies, dilemmas, actors and decisions related to the advancement of CCS in the US. The value of considering CCS politics and policy from a technology innovation perspective will first be introduced followed by some background and context on the US energy system and US activity related to climate change mitigation. A review of government initiatives related to CCS...

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